Bottle-closure.



G. W. 'IRBXLER. BOTTLE CLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1910.

-. 1,024,911 Patented Apr. 30, 1912..

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. TREXLER, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, AS SIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 HENRY SONNENBERG, 0F TURTLE CREEK, PENNSYLVANIA.

BOTTLE-CLOSURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 28, 1910.

Patented Apr. 30, 1912.

Serial No. 563,876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W'. Tnnxnnn, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Closures, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to bottle closures, and the object of my invention is to provide a bottle with a closure that cannot be opened without detection, thereby preventing the contents of the bottle fro-m being tampered with or portions thereof surreptitiously removed.

My invention aims to eliminate the nefarious practice of unscrupulous merchants in substituting an inferior article for a wellknown brand by using bottles or receptacles that once contained the well-known brand of liquid. This practice not only prevails among liquor dealers, but is practised con siderably by druggists, particularly in connection with well-known patent medicine. To this end, I provide an ordinary bottle neck with a closure that requires a specially designed sealing tool, and by mak ing the closure of a vitreous or fragile mate rial, it is impossible to remove the closure without breaking the same, thereby preventing a merchant from using the bottle in its original form and thus notifying a person that the bottle has been opened.

My invention will be better understood when reference is had to the drawing forming a part of this specification and the details disclosed by the drawing.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the closure in an open position. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same in a closed position, and Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line w-w of Fig. 2, showing suitable instruments for sealing the closure.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 denotes the body of a bottle having a neck 2 formed with a tapering throat. The upper end of the neck 2 has formed integral therewith a laterally-extending peripheral flange 8 which is flush at its upper end with the top of the neck and which is of such width as to have its lower end provide an abutment or shoulder 10. Mounted within the throat is a closure 4, as shown, a cork.

The closure comprises two caps, one made of asbestos or a non-fusible flexible material and the other of a malleable vitreous material, as glass. The asbestos cap is designated 5 and is fitted upon the mouth of the bottle with the skirt or depending sides thereof extending in proximity to the breast 6 of said bottle, and this cap is adapted to protect the neck of the bottle from an excessive heat that might crizzle, crack, or otherwise injure the bottle neck. The vitreous cap is designated 7 and the skirt or depending sides 8 thereof extend in proximity to the lower edges of the cap 5, said vitreous cap fitting snugly upon the asbestos cap.

7 After the two caps have been placed in position as shown in Fig. l of the drawings,

the lower edges of the cap 5 are heated-by suitable semi-circular heating irons or instruments 9 until the lower edges of the cap become pliable, and by forcing inwardly upon the irons or instruments 9 the lower edges of the vitreous cap are carried into snug engagement with the neck 2 of the bottle, as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and it is through the medium of the shoulder 10 of the bottle neck that the vitreous cap is prevented from being removed unless broken or otherwise injured.

The heating irons or instruments can be heated by electricity or placed in a suitable flame that will heat the irons to that extent as to render the lower edges of the vitreous cap pliable when the irons or instruments are applied thereto, these irons or instruments being shaped to mold the lower edges of the vitreous cap around the bottle neck.

Owing to the fact that the skirt of the glass cap does not project below the lower edge of the skirt of the asbestos cap (the latter being material of low heat conductivity), the heat imparted to and required by that portion of the glass cap which projects below the annular head at the top of the bottle, is not communicated to the neck of the bottle when the instrument for contracting such projecting portion of the neck is being employed. In addition, the ashestos skirt acts as an insulator for preventing any undue effect on the cap by the bottleneck where the contents of the bottle extend up or in close proximity to the plane of the lower end of the glass cap. In this connection there is no liability of the neck of the bottle being injured either by the cap or the instrument during such operation.

The closure is applicable to any receptacle having an annular collar or shoulder under which the lower edges of the cap can engage.

What I claim, is:

1. As a means for sealing bottles having a neck formed with an annular head at its open end, a skirt having a length to projectbelow said bead, said skirt being formed of flexible material of low heat conductivity, and a malleable vitreous cap having its skirt also projecting below said bead and adapted to have its projecting portion contracted below said bead by heat, said skirts being of a relative length to permanently prevent contact of the contracting portion of the malleable skirt and the neck of the bottle, whereby the heat of the malleable cap during the contracting operation and of the instrument providing such operation will not aifect the neck of the bottle.

2. In combination, a bottle neck formed with an annular bead at its open end, a closure within said open end, and a sealing structure carried by said neck, said st-ruc ture comprising an asbestos cap having its skirt projecting below said head, and a glass cap also having a skirt of a length to project below said bead, said cap skirts being of a size to normally pass over said head and adapted to be contracted around the neck of the bottle below said bead by heat application to the glass cap skirt, said skirts being of a relative length to permanently prevent contact of the contracting portion of the glass cap skirt and the neck of the bottle, whereby said asbestos skirt will insulate the neck of the bottle from the heated portion being contracted during the contracting operation to prevent injuries to the bottle neck.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. TREXLER. lVitnesses KARL H. BUTLER, JOHN S. STEPHANY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing th Commlssloner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

